Talyn nodded again. “Can you double-check my curfew tonight?”
Erix cursed under his breath. “Did he change it on you again?”
“Yeah. Yesterday, after I left base.”
“How late were you?”
Talyn sighed before he answered irritably. “I wasn’t, but thirty-seven minutes went down on my record. I’m lucky they let me out to train tonight.”
Felicia duplicated Erix’s scowl. “That’s not that bad, is it?”
Talyn didn’t answer as he caressed her cheek with his hand. “I’ll get changed and be back.”
“Is it?” she asked Erix after Talyn left them.
“Yeah, it is.” He pulled his link out and made a call to cancel the sparring for the night.
She set her backpack down and waited until Erix was finished with his call before she spoke again. “I don’t understand what’s going on. Why is this a big deal? It’s just thirty minutes.”
A tic started in Erix’s jaw. “For every minute he’s late checking in to post, he gets two lashes with a cane. Thirty-seven minutes equals seventy-four strikes.”
The true horror of that wasn’t apparent to her until Talyn returned and she saw the harsh, fresh bruises marring his back as he pulled on a T-shirt to cover them.
Tears choked her. She felt sick to her stomach. “Did I cause that?”
“No,” Talyn breathed, pulling her into his arms. “It had nothing to do with you. I promise.” He kissed her cheek again before he released her.
“His commander screws with his check-ins sometimes,” Erix snarled.
“Why?”
Talyn snorted. “What can I say? I’m an abrasive asshole.” He approached Erix and picked up his practice gloves. “Where’s my opponent?”
He screwed his face up at the sight of Talyn’s bruised back. “I canceled it. You don’t need anyone else pounding on you until some of that heals. We can do cardio and weights tonight. Not to mention…” He held his link out to Talyn. “He changed your check-in again. You don’t have that much time for training.”
Talyn growled. “Thanks for looking it up.”
“No problem.”
Felicia opened her backpack and dug out the plastic containers. “I brought your dinner.”
Talyn sat down on the mat next to where she stood. “Where’d you get it from?”
She handed him an airtight plate and cutlery. “I made it.”
“You cook?” he asked incredulously.
She gave him a playful, menacing stare. “You don’t have to sound so shocked. I love to cook, and your bland, unsavory meals are very easy to prepare.”
With a sweet smile at her teasing, he opened his plate.
Erix gently clapped him on the arm. “Eat your dinner in peace, kid. You need it.”
“Thanks.”
Sitting down beside him, Felicia handed him some of the water she’d packed. “I feel so bad about what happened last night.”
“Don’t.” He touched her hair and smiled at her. “I have no regrets. For what you did… they can skin me alive.”
She looked at his back and scowled. “I find it hard to believe you feel that way.”
He shrugged nonchalantly. “Beatings I can take. Trust me. My mother’s given me harder kisses and hugs.” He sampled the food, then flashed her an adorable expression of disbelief. “It’s delicious.”
“Thanks,” she said sarcastically. “Appreciate your confidence in my abilities.” She opened her own plate. Returning his smile, she fed him a bit of her cut-up fruit.
He nipped playfully at her fingers before he swallowed it. “How was school today?”
“Boring. How was patrol?”
“Not boring. Ran into a group of Tavali.”
Her eyes widened at his casual mention of the bloodthirsty pirates who preyed on their corporate ships and freighters. “What happened?”
He swallowed and took a drink before he answered. “We fought. I struck a couple of blasts to one of their fighters, but they eluded capture.”
“Did they blast you?”
“They tried. Luckily, I dodged. Ran them all the way back to their baseship, the Storm Dancer.”
“I’m glad. Please, don’t get hurt.”
“That’s usually my game plan.” He winked at her. “Especially now that I have a really good reason to stay out of traction.” Wiping his hand off, he pulled the physiology book out of her backpack so that he could glance through it. “You have finals soon, don’t you?”
She nodded.
“If you need any help, my mother’s immediate family were all physicians and surgeons. In fact, I’m pretty sure this was written by one of her older brothers. And I passed the certs to get in. I’ve got a good handle on the subject.”
“Be happy to have a gorgeous study partner. Not sure how much